Walking In the Shadows
by Kimitsuzue
Summary: Each little smile or sideways glance—the soft laughs of amusement and the perfectly timed comments between bits of gossip were all bold-faced lies. She had to keep putting her life back together... but Elena Gilbert had become an existence built on lies.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. Any similarities between this fanfiction and other works or real life is purely coincidental. No copyright infringement is intended.**

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Walking In the Shadows

Chapter 1: The Girl In the Graveyard

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It was a front.

Each little smile or sideways glance—the soft laughs of amusement and the perfectly timed comments between bits of gossip were all bold-faced lies. Elena Gilbert had to be everything she used to be. She had to be lively and social, on her feet and out of the slump. She had to keep putting her life back together... but _Elena Gilbert_ had become an existence built on lies, and that was only the beginning of it all.

Flipping her diary open, she pressed the tip of her pen against the paper and let it crinkle beneath the harsh pen strokes as she convinced herself that she was healing, that she was finally moving on—and that _today_ would be different. Yet twenty-two of those days had passed, and none of them had changed a thing. She was still the girl in the graveyard, talking to the tombstone and writing lie after lie about her even bigger lie of an existence.

She scratched out the entry and tore it out, crumpling it thoroughly before shoving it into her bag. There was nothing else to say anymore. Every phrase within the last twenty-two entries had become interchangeable and unimportant; why add yet another falsely optimistic entry? Why? She sighed and poised her pen at the top of a new page. It was because she was Elena Gilbert.

Damon crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips into a thin line from behind a nearby tree. Twenty-two days he had watched her, routinely visiting her parent's grave, going about life—and yet... it pissed him off. It made his blood scream out, and for an instant, his instincts nearly devoured him whole. That damned son-of-a bitch had ruined the _one_ day he decided to make his move.

_Matt, _he scoffed. Childhood friend, first love, and the idiot who couldn't have picked a better day to ruin his plan and start working at the Mystic Grill. _Bastard_.

Damon breathed in deeply. In an instant, his gaze found Elena's figure propped up against the tombstone. After spending nearly a month on reconnaissance, he knew well enough, she wasn't Katherine. No, no—definitely _not_ Katerina Petrova. _She_ was Elena Gilbert, and Elena Gilbert was _human_.

_Deliciously_ human.

Damon felt his fangs begin to thrum with an ache as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, giving him a tantalizing view of her neck. "Mmm..." He closed his eyes and breathed out, relishing in the thrill of stalking his prey. When he opened his eyes again, he let them wander over her flawless skin, imagining her warmth. The sound of her heartbeat was penetrating his skull. _Tease. _

Coming back to reality, he slid his tongue along his fangs and contemplated his options. There was nothing stopping him from taking her then and there... but that was no fun at all, he realized.

Boring times called for drastic measures.

Damon's lips curled into an amused smirk. It was like something out of a romance novel, or maybe something even worse, he noted. Still, there was something about it that made the idea perfect; something that was gloriously _psychotic_.

_Dear, sweet, Elena Gilbert_... _Not Katherine—but certainly not bad_, he mused. Twenty-two days and nights of reconnaissance wouldn't go to waste, he assured himself. _Oh, most definitely not_...

**End of Chapter 1**

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**Hello everybody! Kisaiyo here, just wanting to say that this chapter is very short, but from here on out I will be doing my best to create longer chapters. This first one is to sort of get my feet wet with writing fanfiction for the Vampire Diaries series. I normally write for anime/manga genres so this is new, but I'm having a lot of fun. If you've read my other works, I apologize for not updating very often! Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think!**  
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